Winona and John Vernberg

Frank John (F. John) and Winona Vernberg were marine biologists and preeminent scholars on the southeastern coastal environment.

Frank John Vernberg was a Distinguished Professor of Marine Ecology and Director, Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, University of South Carolina

Winona B. Vernberg’s University of South Carolina career spanned 28 years: eight as a biology professor, two years as acting dean and 17 years as dean of the School of Public Health. Vernberg earned a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State College of Pittsburg in 1944. She earned a master’s degree from DePauw University in 1947 and a doctorate in Zoology from Purdue University in 1951. She served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-45.

The Vernbergs were a research/writing team. In 2001, they collaborated on a book, The Coastal Zone. In addition, the Vernbergs published 127 papers in scientific journals and reports. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, a Fulbright-Hayes fellow to Brazil, winner of the Russell Award for Research in Science. He was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1957). The Vernbergs are the only husband and wife team to receive the William S. Proctor Prize for Scientific Achievement (1983).

She served on the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere (1974-1976), the Science Advisory Committee for PRIMA, Program of the National Science Foundation (1977-1979), the executive committee, Science Advisory Board EPA (1978-1982), the National Advisory Council, NASA (1979-1982), and president of the Council on Education for Public Health (1984-1986).